Half of employers say Brexit will worsen skills gap

50% of businesses think Brexit will worsen the UK skills shortage in 2018, according to a research paper from Robert Walters, totaljobs and Jobsite.

The paper, titled ‘Solving the UK Skills Shortage’ reveals that almost two-thirds of employers (65%) believe that they will be negatively impacted by skills shortages in 2018, and one in four (23%) businesses believe Britain is not prepared to compete on a global stage due to this gap.

Chris Hickey, Robert Walters CEO – UK, Middle East and Africa, suggested that recruiters may need to innovate in order to succeed. “While the ultimate impact Brexit may have is not yet clear, it is possible that employers will have to revise recruitment strategies to compensate for the lack of easy and simple access to professionals in Europe,” he said.

“Developing innovative strategies to address skills shortages will be critical for employers in order to help their businesses remain competitive in a crowded global marketplace.”